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Portuguese ‘Supernanny’ courts controversy

The Portuguese version of the popular TV show Supernanny has raised eyebrows after it emerged families taking part in the show are paid €1,000 to do so.

The programme, the first episode in a series of eight which debuted on national broadcaster SIC last Sunday, was one of the day’s most-watched programmes, with an audience of almost 1.2 million viewers or a 24.2 percent share.However, many have come out to slam the fact that parents are paid €1,000 to expose their children on TV and have the cameras in their home for a week, in a contract signed with producers.This was the case of the family featured in the very first episode aired over the weekend, involving mother Patrícia, a 36-year-old insurance broker who lives in Loures, and daughter Margarida, aged seven. The programme’s also generated a backlash due to the exposure to which the child was subjected. The National Committee for the Promotion of the Rights and Protection of Children and Young People said “there is a high risk” that the programme “violates the rights of children”, namely the right to privacy. That view has been endorsed by the Child Support Institute and UNICEF Portugal, which have appealed for the State to intervene due to concerns about the airing of more cases in the coming weeks.The Psychologists Register, who in 2016 had pronounced negative feedback on the format because it considered “psychological intervention should not be associated with programmes in which private cases are publicly exposed”, said it had received complaints, which will now be analysed by the Jurisdictional Council. A number of complaints also reached the media regulator the ERC, which said it would be analysing them in the coming days. However, faced with a growing chorus of criticism that has spread on social networks, broadcaster SIC issued a statement in which it assures that ‘Supernanny’ “complies with the law” and the necessary authorisations for the purpose have been obtained.SIC argues that the programme, which is shown in 15 countries, is not merely exhibitionism. The star of ‘Supernanny’ is Teresa Paula Marques, a psychologist. The UK version of ‘Supernanny’ first debuted in 2004, and ran for almost a decade, until September 2014.Starring experienced nanny, Jo Frost, a proponent of the ‘naughty chair’ theory of discipline, it towed the tagline “Jo Frost is on a mission to help desperate parents with their badly behaved children.”‘Supernanny’ was one of Channel 4’s most popular programmes, with an audience of nearly five million viewers in the first series.

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